The first season of The Last of Us drew to a triumphant close with an American audience of 8.2 million viewers despite clashing with the Oscars ceremony. Yet, even as fans debate the full meaning of the dramatic final episode, thoughts have already turned to what we might expect from the next season.

 

 

Details of the First Season

While the series is based on a video game, there’s no need to play it before watching the show. A recap of The Last of Us confirms that the action takes place a couple of decades after a cordyceps fungus has infected 60% of the planet’s population. This led to different types of zombies roaming the Earth, such as stalkers, runners, and clickers, depending upon the stage of infection that they´ve reached.

It’s clear that the first season of The Last of Us was a huge success, with the first six episodes averaging over 30 million viewers each at the time of writing, according to a Variety report. Reviews for the season finale were generally positive as Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, was once again faced with tough decisions. The music and the beautiful visuals helped to make this episode as attractive as those before it, but it was the big reveal about Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and why she’s immune that hooked audiences.

 

 

What Do We Know About the Second Season?

The huge success of The Last of Us means it was renewed for a second season after only two episodes of the first season were aired. There’s no release date for the second season yet, but a third season is almost certain, with series creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann pointing out that the first season covered the first game while they want to make the second game cover more than one season on TV.

A huge issue that has worried a lot of fans is the question of who will play Ellie in the second series and beyond, with many people assuming that Ramsey would no longer be the right age for the role. Mazin and Druckmann recently confirmed that the same actress would be cast as Ellie again, as there are no age issues and they already know how they’re going to be approaching vital areas such as makeup and costume.

The Last of Us Part II shows Joel and Ellie living in Wyoming, struggling to get along with each other. It seems probable the second season on TV will focus on this strained relationship. In the game, we see Joel rescuing Abby Anderson from a horde of zombies, although she later reveals that she has a reason for wanting to get revenge on him.

The second season of The Last of Us has a lot of scope for progressing the main characters further while introducing new challenges and dangers. If the writing and production values are as high as in the first season, we can expect this to be another massive success.